Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1887-07-06
IN THE EARTHQUAKE COUNTRY.
some Adventures Near Summerville-A
Sagacious Texas Horse.

some Adventures Near Summerville-A
Sagacious Texas Horse.
Especial Correspondence
| SUMMERvILLE, 3. c., June 81.
To one making long visit to the pine land
regions of South Carolina horseback exercise
is a pleasant necessity 1t was my good for
tune this spring on coming to Summerville "a
health resort some twenty-five miles from
CharlestoD to secure for my use a Texas
horse, which went by the name of Doctor.
Now, cannot boast of his appear ance, for he
is of peculiar light yellow tint, faded and
shabby looking but of his intelligence may
speak with enthusiasm. He is as good as u
watch dog, keeps always on the alert, and
signals me Of any change in the conditions by
peculiar snort. l suppose he learned this
habit Of watchfulness on the plains when he
was wild horse
One evening as we came home at dusk
| through the silent woods Doctor suddenly
gave his signal | Immediately looked round
to see what he wished to tell me, and saw
man on a white mule stealing up behind US,
the soft sand muffling the sound of footsteps
We knew that we were quite safe, for the
negroes Of this neighborhood are invariably
polite and kind but doubtless Doctor had
had some experience with Indians in his
youth. .**
Suinmerville, as the reader will perbaps
recollect, seemed to be the spot most affected
by the terrible earthquake of Aug. 81, 1886.
Even now three or four shakes a night and
several bomb like det0nations are taken quite
as matter Of course by the residents Few
| people know, however, that some five miles
from Summerville, on the banks Of the Ash
ley river, was once a fine city called Dorches-
ter, founded nearly two centuries ago by the
Puritans from the city Of that name in Mas
sachusetts. The neighborhood OF Dorchester
is famous for the prolonged struggle which
Marion carried on against the British soldiers
during the revolutionary war. Avenues Of
magnificent live oak lead up to bare places
where once grand mansions stood in the olden
days. The unhealthy site of Dorchester, be-
tween river and swamps, led to its being
abandoned, and now plowed fields have taken
the place of prosperous settlement.
| What remains then of the ancient city?
The old White church, built by the Puri-
tans, the belfrt tower of the Cavalier church
and the Coquina fort, built by the Spanish
for protection against the Indians and after
ward made use Of by the red coats of Eng
land. We were naturally anxious to see how
the earthquake had treated these interesting
old places, SO we mounted our horses and rode
away for Dorchester. We left the pine lands
behind us and descended a hill into the
swamp. True, there were pines here also
but water oaks, live oaks and cypress trees,
with their curious knees all sprouting with
| green, a tangled growth Of vines and under
brush and the long moss waving from the
trees, proclaimed clearly enough that we
| t,, tl1 L..
| lands. .*s
The road to Dorchester Is broad with green
hedges on either hand The old White church.
hidden from the road by the large live oaks
with their burden of moss, is on the left hand
side Of the road, some three miles from Sum-
merville. 1ss Was l should say, for the
strong, sturdy walls are cracked and broken,
the roof has fallen in, no semblance of a
| church remains But around are tombs
| stretching right away into the pine woods.
which yearly encroach on the old burial
ground,
Even here the power Of the earthquake Is
visible. Tombs with fat stones, lying hori-
zontal'v, are wrenched, split open or shattered
| perpendicular head stones nave been dis.
placed hopelessly We rode on through the
beautiful lanes and woods for two more miles
and then entered the plowsd field where the
Belfry tower Of the Cavalier church and the
graveyard are inclosed in q copse of best,ti-
| full trees.
We had difficulty in pushing aside the coils
! OF vines protecting the graveyard from in
! truders, but at length obtained a clear view
of the tower. The beautiful octagon top was
entirely gone, and lay at our feet in huge
blocks OF brick aid mortar. The strong walls
have crack. Anxious to see how the Coouna
Fnps had ct oh,
the field, by this means approaching the banks
of the Ashley river. l was riding ahead; leav-
ing Doctor to pick his way while my eyes were
| feasting on the exquisite shades of green on
the wooded banks of the Ashley Suddenly
| Doctor stopped and backed, snorting violent
| ly. My friend from behind cried, .Fissuresln
The ones before which my horse had stop
ped were like little black Sits not three inches
wide; be could easily have stepped over them.
| He showed distinct fear, and when was fool
| ish enough to urge him to pass over them in
stead of letting him skirt the spot. it was to
| find assures on every hand. Some were long
and half foot wide and appeared to be
very deep. l very soon wished | had
trusted to Doctors instinct, for it was
anything but safe or pleasant to be
riding in and out between the ifs
sures. The other horse did not notice that
Iu"Te was any tulbS unuSual Lner9, but Doctor
continued to snort in most uneasy manner
All these assures ran parallel with the river
north and south almost.
We went on to the fort, but could not
enter, so overgrown Is it with trees and vines.
AS far as we could see 1t was uninjured, with
the exception of the coping over the entrance,
which lay broken on the ground
AS we returned was curious to look down
the largest flssure, and urged Doctor rear to
it, but he snorted and backed ME into tree
whence we had some difficulty in extricating
my habit and his tail. However, we got out,
and listened to his advice, given in angry
shorts, and let him make a safer way over the
field. a*s
A day or two later, when we visited Oak
Forest, place nine miles distant from Sum.
merville, where a land slide and very large
assures are to be seen, saw that Doctors in.
stinct was quite correct, for the ground round
the assures is anything but reliable We left
our horses on that occasion with our old
negro, and walked down the path to the river
to see The land slide. The bluff had slipped
into the river, large trees lay with tops sub
merged uprooted as though by giant hand.
The assures are wide and deep, my friends